For A Moment
by Neko Trezzy LoveHearts
Summary: ...Let's not think about the past...Let me hold you close...Let me Protect you..."You have it wrong, Dear Boy..." He said with a light smirk looking at him. "I'm going to keep you." Yaoi Warning, Rating may change to M.
1. Chapter 1

**For A Moment**

Chapter One: ...I Lost It

"Ciel! Get your ass down here right now!" Shouted a female voice from the bottom of wooden stairs. Her hands folded across her poked out chest and her face twisted into a scowl. Even though, Madam Johnson wasn't the most nicest or prettiest of women, she by far was on of the most wealthiest. She was in her late 30's and had short brown curly along with brown eyes which screamed hate. Most called her a witch for how she looked when got angry. Right now would have been a very great example. She let out a soft growl of irritation. "I said now, you little ingrate!"

A small boy came down the stairs with an emotionless look on his face while keeping his eye contact away from the middle-aged woman. He was youngest of the people in the house only being the tender age of 13. His eyes were a beautiful peacock blue that could have tested the ocean while his hair was dark blackish cerulean. The word most described him as was cute for his small figure and appearance. Even Madam Johnson herself couldn't help do it as well...If she liked him. "I-Is something wrong, Ma'am?"

She glared at the child before getting a bit closer into his face. "I was just in my room and I noticed something strangely odd. Can you tell me why, Ciel?" Madam Johnson asked in a soft tone which was a bit threatening if you heard it correctly.

Confused and utterly lost, Ciel shook his head finally looking glancing at her for the first time in maybe weeks. Looking at her was almost as bad as staring into the very eyes of Medusa. You would mostly turn to stone and be unable to move until she made you. Ciel could have sworn he'd seen servants freeze up when coming to contact with her. "N-No, Ma'am."

Madam Johnson tapped her fingers against her arm, loosing whatever pint of patience she had left, and began to circle him. "Let's not forget the rules here, Boy. Or do I have to beat them into you again?"

Her words sent shivers down his spine. Madam Johnson adored control and especially hated when a person told her no. Ciel was only one who had dared to defy her in the beginning and she took a riding crop and abused his hands and whatever else she saw fit till he cried out in pain. Soon it became a regular thing whenever he would do the smallest thing wrong. He wasn't going to let it show but Ciel feared her a lot. He shook his head.

She saw how silent he was and frowned. Oh how she wanted to break him. Crush his very spirit till he had no choice to do whatever she said. Though he did it now, she wanted his very soul smashed into pieces. "On the ground. Now." From her side, she showed him the whip that made his eyes widen. Ciel obeyed quickly sitting on his knees with his head down. "Now...Remind me again why you are here and the rules."

"I'm here because no one else wanted me after my parents died. My stupid mother had left me in the custody of my pitiful aunt who wanted nothing to with me and you took it upon your kind heart to take me in as a servant." Ciel recited perfectly which caused her to smirk and him to mentally sigh. He loved his mother a lot and he loved aunt more than anything but Madam Johnson had told him exactly what to say otherwise he would have been immediately punished. "Your rules were to only refer to you as Ma'am or Mistress. Always do whatever you tell me to without back talk and get the work done thoroughly and perfectly the first time."

"So you aren't as incompetent. Then explain to me why my quarters are in a complete and utter mess." She ordered. Ciel gave her a glance that said just as confused as it was before. He had cleaned her room till it sparkled. How could have been trashed since he did while she in her study. "Well.."

"I-I cleaned it. I don't know what happened." He told her honestly and fluently. Ciel was a smart child. He never faltered in his speech and pronunciation, mainly because he grew up learning better. Though whenever he saw Madam Johnson, he had to tone it down because she would never want some slave who spoke even better than she did.

"Lies are useless to me, seeing how I had put it only your daily list of chores. The rest have been done but my room in shambles. You should know that after 3 years I won't accept anything less than perfection. Now speak the truth."

"I am speaking the truth, Ma'am."

She glared at him again. "Should you lie to me again, I'll be forced to punish you. I know you wouldn't want that now would y-"

Ciel cut her off. "I told you that I did clean it!" He nearly shouted at the shocked woman before covering his own mouth. His temper was one of things he hated about himself. It was that very thing that was the cause most of his beatings. He moved his head down and bit his lip. "_Nice going, Ciel._"

"Alright, you brat. Hands out! Now!" She barked making him flinch. He hesitantly did it and watched at she held up the item and brought it down hard on his hands. She cringed when she did again and again each time harder than the last. Tears brimmed in the corners of his eyes, she hit his arms and finally his back. His hands were red along with his arms and he held back his tears. "You will learn to respect your place, Brat. Go clean that room. As punishment for your insolence, you shall receive no supper tonight."

He only nodded ignoring the stings of his body. Ciel was ready to walk away and started to when she gripped his hair pulling him back. His fearful blue eyes almost reflected in hers.

"Ahem. Shouldn't be saying something to me right now, Ciel?"

"Please..forgive me for being so rude to you, Ma'am." Ciel said softly trying to blink fast to rid himself of the droplets in his eyes.

She smiled seeing them, letting go of his hair. "Go." Seeing him almost cry...it was like watching fireworks. He scurried off and she laughed to herself. She knew good and well that he had cleaned the room. After her meeting with the Duchess and Duke from the neighboring kingdom, she had gotten so livid, that she totaled her room by throwing dresses and shoes all over and tearing papers.

Madam Johnson smirked. He always worked so hard but all for what? His parents had left him a lot when the died including over 100 thousand dollars from their funds. He wouldn't have to lift a finger again...but she wasn't going to tell him that. She got the money and her own personal slave. A win-win situation.

Ciel finally let himself hold his hands in pain once far away from that mad women. Not only that but he allowed the tears to stream down his eyes. She was so cruel...That's all she was. An evil sadist...He lowered his head, trying to hold in the soft cries but it wouldn't work the slightest. He sniffed lightly.

"Ciel?" He looked up and came face to face with Madam Johnson's niece, Elizabeth Midford. Her sister had married a Count. She was older than him by a year and was a bit taller as well. She had golden-blond hair that were in two longs twists with a curl in front for her bang and emerald eyes to match. She looked at him worriedly. "Are you alright?"

He wiped his face quickly and bowed to her. "I-I'm fine, My Lady. Thank you for y-" She cut him off by grabbing his hand gently, which made him immediately flinch and hiss. It was still red and slightly swollen which Elizabeth could feel even from wearing her gloves. She examined them a little more before frowning. He looked back at her before down.

"My aunt..." She started softly, gaining his attention. "She hit you again, right?" The question was almost forced out because her voice got softer with each syllable spoken. This wasn't the first time she had seen him like this but it was the first time she had caught him crying. In other time, she would watch from a far as he held his hands trying to work despite his injuries but once she seen him crying...it was a whole different thing now...

He blinked away whatever remaining tears he had in his eyes, not wanting to look at the female noble. Not only that, but he knew it was bad manners for a servant to look at a person of stature eye-to-eye. "I'm fine...i-it was my own fault for speaking back to the Mistress in the manner I had. Excuse me." He tried to go by her but she grabbed his wrist making him cringe and stop.

"You can't possibly work with your hands in that condition." She argued with the frown visible on her face. Through the numbness and pain in his hands, he could feel her soft cotton gloves. Her frown was replaced with a smile while forcing his head up to look at her. "And I swore to you a million times that when it's just us, you can call me Lizzy."

"I-I'd forgotten." He returned back, almost a whisper looking away. She was about the only one who he would be able to call a friend. She was nice and kind to him unlike anyone else there. He had trust in her and saw her as the big sister he wished he had. Using her free gloved hand, Lizzy wiped away the tear-remains on his eyes. "She didn't tell me that you were coming today.."

She smiled sweetly at him. "My parents had a sudden meeting with the king so she they dropped me off here until the get back. I was on my way to tell Auntie when I saw you..." Her smile faded slightly while looking down. "I don't know why she's like that towards servants...especially you...it's so cruel.."

Ciel smiled a bit to himself. Lizzy was always considerate of others..unlike her nasty, conniving aunt...she actually cared about the servants. "I am really alright, L-Lizzy. Don't worry, I'll ice my hands when I'm done working if it makes you feel better..."

She nodded. "It will...A lot better."

"Elizabeth! Where are you!" Shouted the voice of Madam Johnson and that made them jump. She could always prove to be the loudest in the house, which she likes making clear so that whenever she ordering someone to do something, they will hear her. "Elizabeth!"

"C-Coming, Auntie!" Lizzy yelled back but carefully not to burst Ciel's eardrums. She sent him a smile letting go his hands. He smiled back as she walked away. "Hey, when your done icing your hands, meet me at my room and we can talk some more, okay?" She offered to him which he accepted with a nod. Grinning, she waved. "Later!" With that, she ran towards her screaming Aunts voice.

Ciel waited a moment before walking towards his mistresses' room. He rubbed his hands a bit to ease the pain but they throbbed in soreness when he did. Working like this would was going to be hard but the faster he got done, the faster he could go help them.

Once he reached the room, Ciel wasted no time before getting to work. In his head, he was thinking about how it would have been if he parents hadn't been killed, like he had been told. Where would they be and what would they be doing right now? Outside playing the fallen snow..or inside telling stories by the fireplace...

He remembered something that would happen often. Where he use to live...It would be an occasional storm of lightning and thunder. Ciel was still scared of those but whenever it would get like that at night, he'd automatically go into his parents room and get beside his mother since his father's work was at this time. She would usually be up and would sing him to sleep along with her music box. He loved her voice in general...

It wasn't long before he found himself singing softly without even realizing he was.

_Even now, there shines in the night sky_

The memories of long-dead stars

Someday, I hope that,I, too

_Will becomes someone's light_

You have continued upon this long journey

Dragging your solitary shadow behind you..

He was finished cleaning by the time he reached that part. Ciel really want to sing the last part but he didn't remember it. After all, he didn't sing everyday...only when he needed something to distract him from the pain when working with an injury. Something about the remaining of the song made him want to know more...mainly because it was his mother's song. The only tie to her her that he had left...

The sounds of horses came from outside the window which made him snap from the daydream. Going over to check, a small frown appeared on his face. It was Lizzy's parents. As they and Madam Johnson talked, she looked towards the window and gave an apologetic look and mouthed, "Next time." To him.

Faking a smile, he nodded and mouthed back, "Sure." Lizzy was smart but wasn't smart enough to know that his smile wasn't genuine. He watched as she climbed back into the carriage and started for home. A sigh came from his mouth. She was lucky...

As he walked out the now spot-less clean room, the rest of the words hit him hard. The reasoning behind wanting to know the rest was clear too. While going back to let Madam Johnson know that he had finished his errand, Ciel sang the song in his mind while his head remained aimed at the ground.

_I was born alone into this world_

_And I shall leave it alone as well_

That's simply, Destiny, and yet..

Why do I find tears in my eyes...

That part of the song was played to his mothers singing. Her face looked so calm and she kept a smile while singing such sad lyrics. He would stay beside her all the same until the song ended. That wasn't the ending but part of the it. The rest of it was a mystery but..he was glad to have remember a portion of his mother's song...and his lullaby...He didn't want to lose it again..

**And that's where we are ending this off...Pretty deep stuff right there. I love it! Anyway, as you can tell this a bit AU-ish...It was a request from my Role playing buddy and it came out okay at least. I hope you all enjoyed it and there will be more to come. Please review and tell me how did and don't to follow and favorite! See you all in the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**For A Moment**

**Chapter Two: ...I Knew Nothing**

A large crash echoed through the hall of Madam's Johnson's mansion. The servants walking through it paused and stood in place as her loud and menacing voice boomed within the large house. They whispered to one another listening to woman shout as if she were alone but they knew their Mistresses' behavior. Though they knew she was yelling at someone...the question was if she happy or not.

Inside the room, Ciel cringed at her loud tone while pouring her tea while she was in the face of her working friend and informer, Hank Sharpe. He was tall man with light hazel eyes and dark brown eyes. He stood straight and tall while Johnson was in his face, gripping his suit firmly. "Tell me that you are not lying about this, Hank! This is real! He is really coming here!?" She shouted shaking him. "Answer me! This is life or death!"

He chucked at her excitement, removing her hands from his jacket and straightening the wrinkles. "Honestly Taryin, how childish can you get..." She sent him a death glare and he smiled handing her the invitation. Her glare stopped and she read it. "Indeed. You were invited by King Izaya himself to his royal ball in honor of his daughter's birthday. He shall be holding it in none other than Crystal Palace, since it's flower garden is blooming the arrange of Winter Night-shade roses."

After the explanation, she frowned heavily looking at him with annoyed yet bored expression. "You said he was coming but you said nothing about the king coming to celebrate his brat's birthday. That must mean that he's married and has a small child as well. What on Earth can I do with that!?"

"You obviously haven't heard anything about the great king." Hanks said with an eye sparkling while looking her. "It's true that he was married but about 9-years-ago a fatal illness stole the life of his beloved queen, Sayaka. He had never married again and still is free." He smirked put to finger to his top hat. "As his daughter, I don't say you can call her little. After all, she is 26-years-old. She hasn't been considered that term in years."

Taryin, or Madam Johnson, arched an eyebrow at him. She knew him all too well to know that there was something plotting in his head. "Continue.."

A smirk appeared on his face while moving his hand from his hat to his side. "If the king single and vulnerable at this time, why not try to seduce him? If you succeed, then he might ask you to join him as his queen to be. Then you will be exposed to his riches. King Izaya is known to be one of the most riches of royals...In commoner terms...You could call him a millionaire."

"Oh I like the sound of that very much." Taryin clapped while grinning widely. "Can't you just imagine it?" She went grabbed her riding crop making Ciel move away from here a bit before stealing Hanks top-hat and pretending to be a guard. "All hail the queen! Queen Taryin of the Sekai Kingdom!" Glancing at him, her brown eyes sparkled mischievously. "Has a nice ring to it? Don't you agree?"

He nodded with the smirk still planted on his face. "A wonderful ring to it, Madam. But unfortunately you have one obstacle in your way of attending this party.." He added with a sigh which made her smile twitched. His fingers pointed towards the invitation with a plain expression. "Please finish reading the rest of it."

Confused, her eyes scanned the rest of the paper for anything that might prove to be a challenge. Her fingers gripped the papers tightly, almost ripping it while glaring at the paper. "What this?! A high noble can only enter this party accompanied by a child?!" Her gaze focused towards him. "I trust you have an idea about this thing too, right Hank? You know very well that I don't care for little brats...putting my dear, sweet Elizabeth aside.."

"But of course." He aimed his sight on Ciel who was adding sugar to her tea not paying much attention to their conversation. Hank found a new smirk on his face watching him. "Why not use your slave child? You own him and I'm positive that Lady Frances shall be attending with young Elizabeth...he's a perfect option."

Taryin turned to look at the young boy. "Ciel...hm..." She thought about it and gasped. Ciel's parents had been known a bit by royals and nobles since their company had been manufacturing in countries all over the continent. The chances of them discovering who he was and what she done could in fact be risky. No way in hell was she going to lose a slave and all that money. "No. I won't use him."

"But Taryin, this is the only way! You can't possibly expect to find a child by tonight who will go with you willingly." He walked over and gripped Ciel by his shoulder just as he finished her tea. The boy winced feeling him squeeze a wound on his arm while pulling him in front of the woman. "This boy is your only chance!"

She glared at him, snatching Ciel from his arm tossing to the side where he fell on the ground. "What did I fucking say! You dare go against my words, Hank?!" She asked loudly, glare hard enough to crack stone. Ciel looked at her from the ground and saw that her entire face was red and her fist was clenched enough to the point where a bit of blood would start appearing. "I said no."

Hanks must had looked into her eyes because he was completely frozen in place with a scared expression on his face. It took him a few seconds to shake the fear before nodding, sentence stammering at every vowel. "Y-Y-Yes, Ma-Ma'am." He finally managed to choke out. Her glare didn't falter while continuing to glare at him.

Knowing Ciel was still in the room, Taryin turned towards him. "Ciel, go wash the main hall floors. I want to be able to see myself carrying a pin when I look at them." She ordered abruptly, her voice was cold and very serious along with her an angered look. He stood up and she suddenly brought out the riding crop. "Faster! Now!" She shouted, making him almost run out the room shutting the door behind him. He started to walk when he heard her begin to speak to Hank again. "Now listen here, Hank! That boy is where half of your pay check comes from! Should anyone discover him, they'll ask questions! Questions I'd rather not answer."

Ciel kept a bit closer to the door with a puzzled expression forming across his face. What was she talking about? She didn't even pay him...how could his money be going to someone else... "I'm sorry, Ma'am bit I don't quite understand. Its not like you took the boy by his will...right? I heard he was dropped into your custody..."

He heard her sigh and her heels click against the ground, farther away from the door. "It's of no concern to you but just know that as long as he remains alive and with in this manor, you will will keep getting paid wonderfully."

Knowing fully well the she most likely wasn't going to continue speaking about the matter, Ciel slowly moved away from door in order for his foot steps to not be heard. He got a good distance away from the door and began walking normally, starting towards the kitchen to get the to wash the floor. As he walked, he pondered about what he had heard Madam Johnson say. Why he was the reason Hank was getting paid...It made no sense. As far as he knew, he was stuck with her. His parents weren't the wealthiest of people so basically he wasn't poor...It was much to confusing. Ciel finally reached the kitchen and got started filling up the bucket.

Meanwhile inside of the office, Madam Johnson sat at her desk sipping her. Hank sat in the chair in front of it. The argument had went south already and they were thinking of a way for her to get into the party. So far, all of their ideas drawn right back to Ciel. She let out a frustrated cry while frowning hard. "Is this boy really my only chance at becoming queen!? This isn't fair the slightest...I hate that brat!"

"You decided to keep him." Hank said drinking his own cup. She hadn't even ordered for him to do it but Ciel had took it amongst himself to make him some. "And I see why." He examined the room. It was cleaned to utter perfection. There wasn't a single thing misplaced or dusty. Even the hardware floors were polished to the point where you could drop a needle and thread and find it instantly. Not only that but he even made the tea taste amazing. "He's an exceptional worker despite his age. I know adults twice his age who couldn't do half the things in this room as well as him."

She sighed. "Well what did you expect? There are over 80 workers in this manor. You're insane to think I would allow any of them to make foolish mistakes. I strive for nothing less of perfection." Her eyes were as dark and cold while saying that, looking at the steaming cup of jade tea. It was perfect...everything had to be...

"His last name...What was it again?"

She paused. His last name...she had forgotten it herself. After almost 3 years, she had never found a reason to use it. Though now that he had brought it up, it began to bother her a lot. Madam Johnson looked at her tea again holding it up. She wasn't going to let it show that she had made a fault. "The hell should I care...he's a slave. His first name is enough." Glancing at him, Taryin put the tea cup to her lips sipping it. "Why do you need to know anyway?

"Because if you want perfection, that boy wouldn't be a perfect example. As you know, no one is perfect. How do you know that when he grows he won't turn on you? Or run away?" He smirked a bit seeing her expression. "I do agree that is especially wonderful but for how many more years? Months...Days..." His smirk only grew putting the tea to his mouth to hide how wide her eyes had gotten. "Hours..."

All he said was pretty right...she had been nothing but mean and cruel to Ciel since they day she met him. It would make a lot of sense if he did tray to run away or even kill her. A hard glare appeared on her face just thinking about it. "That little brat..." Taryin muttered, pinching her tea cup handle to point where it cracked and chipped. No way she was going to let him ruin the utopia that she had struggle so hard to get... "What do you suggest, Hank?" She asked him.

He closed his eyes moving the tea cup down to show her the devious smirk. "Here's what I think..."

Ciel wiped his forehead while looking at the floors of the ballroom. It was cleaned superbly just how she wanted, He started cleaning up the water and sponge when he felt someone grab his arms roughly. He almost choked in the air before a hand covered his mouth. By reflex he began scream into it but realized too late that a rag was in the hand. His muffled screams came to a stop and his eyelids dropped.

Once his struggling resisted and they were sure that he was unconscious, they hoisted him over their shoulder and walked towards the door. The person dressed in all black looked all around before starting to talk again with ease. Ciel was small and was as light a pillow. Being silent as can be, he made sure not to make a sound while going into the next room. They reached the exit with him still in his hands and just enough Madam Johnson was leaning against the door, her arms crossed and a stern expression on her face while her eyes were shut.

"The Midnight Wolf..." She said, directly to him which shocked him a bit. "The trained assassin who works for the Unholy Worshipers and is one of the most skilled among the group. Used mainly to do the bidding of others for a simple price. A mere lap dog." Her eyes finally opening to look at him. He pulled out a dagger ready to attack her. She sighed holding up a hand which had a mark on it that resembled a rose covered in thorns. "Please...I'm the one who called you."

He examined her closely for a bit before nodding. "You ordered me to remove this child from the premises and make sure that he doesn't end up anywhere, where someone could possibly find him and take interest...This isn't an difficult task but is indeed a very confusing one. Why send him away rather than just have him killed?" He asked looking at her. She stared at him for a minute and he tilted his head. "Madam..."

"Tch." She scoffed recrossing her arms turning her head away from him. It hadn't even occurred to her that she could kill him...the thought had even crossed her mind. Taryin turned her head slightly to glance at Ciel and her tensed face softened a bit. He was only a child...someone who she had decided to take in for money and control. Those were her only reasons seeing how she didn't care for children. There maybe was a reason but she had long since forgotten it along with his last name. Peeking at the mercenary only once, Taryin sharply turned. "My reasoning has absolutely nothing to do with you. It was a simple request and I want no questions asked. Just make sure that the job is done or shall receive no pay or recognition from me. Those friends of yours wouldn't like that would they?'

He nodded. "Yes, Ma'am." Taryin moved out the way and he looked ahead walking ahead. "I'll see to it that he won't be found." With that sentence, he left the mansion. Taryin locked the door and looked only to see a carriage driving off. She glanced at the scene for another moment before leaving. One of the servants happened to come into the room. She paused and turned to them and they bowed.

"Oh, you. I have an order for you." She approached them making them almost quiver in fear. "Spread the news around the manor that from no on they shall work harder or else. For my servant, Ciel is gone." She started to leave and the servant looked at her, asking hesitantly what happened to the boy. She didn't turn to look at him while her eyes turned cold. "He's dead..."

\- - - -

Somewhere far away from the land ruled by Madam Johnson, in the Manor which laid on the outskirts of London, England, a woman with dark skin and a blue skirt suit knocked on the door to one the rooms. She pushed some of her white hair from her eyes and sighed. "Sir? It's Hannah, may I come in?" She asked loud enough for him to hear her. Hearing an answer yes, she opened the door and approached the desk with a unamused look on her face. "Sir, you have another letter from the queen." She said putting the paper on the desk and sliding it to.

The man picked it up and opened it before glancing through the letter. Almost 2 seconds after he tossed it in the garbage. "What kind of request is this...It's very bold of Her Majesty to ask of me of such an...outrageous thing." He said looking at the woman identified as Hannah. "In what way shall attending an park opening be entertaining.."

Hannah sighed. "Sir, you yourself barely attending any royal parties. Shes only asking you to cut rope and give a simple speech. That's all. It's the least you can do for missing her birthday party, which had planned to go to." She put a hand on her hip waiting to see what he would do. "It's in 4 days, what shall you do, My Lord?"

He ran a hand through his slick black hair sighing annoyed. "Fine..." He answered before leaning back in the chair slightly sipping his glass of tea. "After all..." His ruby eyes reflecting in the hot beverage as a toothy smirk crept upon his face. "I am simple one hell of a lord."

**Yeah this chapter took longer than I wanted. I'm so sorry about that but I had lost and the file and all hell broke loose. But I will be continuing this! Believe it! Please review and tell me how I did and don't forget to follow and favorite! See you all in the next chapter!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**For A Moment**

**Chapter Three- ...I was Alone...**

Ciel's head pounded as he regained consciousness. He groaned trying to hold it but found something rather hard. Every time he moved his hand, it didn't move. Not only that but he couldn't move his other one either. It was then he realized that his hands had been tied together. Panicking, he started fighting at them. "_W-What's going on..._" He looked around examining the foreign area. By the moving, he could tell that he was in the back of some carriage but the windows had been tinted so he couldn't see anything out of them. He sat up and tried moving again only to feel the carriage stop moving. He was so scared that he had no idea what to do next. Act like he was asleep and let things go how they were...or try to fight off his attackers. Ciel instantly frowned at his last thought. He wasn't even strong to get out the rope yet he was ready to fight. He heard footsteps and sat upright and waited. He wasn't going to fight but he was going to get away from them he'd had to be awake.

The door was unlocked from the outside and he looked at it as it swung opened. An older looking man looked at him. "Hm...A small little thing, aren't you.." He to himself while examining the child closely. He had dark brown hair with gray streaks with matching brown eyes. He also had a long beard with a skeptical over his right eye. He was dressed in a tan suit. Ciel looked back at him and stared at him for a minute.

For the longest, Ciel noticed that whenever he was around someone, he could almost feel their personalities. For each feeling he would get, Ciel would give it a color. Red was fear or scary, Green was neutral, Yellow was sketchy or unsafe, Purple was dark or cruel, Black was cold and heartless, Pink was upbeat and happy, Orange was safe and welcoming, White was average and plain..The only color he hadn't come to find was Blue...Mainly because he hadn't encountered one yet.

The man suddenly stopped and looked him dead in the eyes. Ciel instantly froze on spot, seeing the man begin to smirk. "How extraordinary..." He said before reaching and pulling him out. Ciel flinched at the touch but didn't fight. He stood and looked. A small frown appeared on his face. He had no idea where he was...The man tied another rope to his tied hands to lead him as if he was an animal. He went to the driver and handed a small sack of money. "This child is worth every bit of it. Thank you for finding him."

"Hm.." The driver replied simply. Ciel looked at him only to see him wearing all black with a hood covering his face. Ciel could make out a black mustache with a mark on the side of his face. He blinked recognizing it. He had seen the exact same thing on Madam Johnson's hand. Almost at once Ciel started putting things together instant.

He put his head down. "S-She sold me..." He said in his mind hoping that it would sound better than it looked. Part of him wanted to be happy that he was away from the power-hungry woman but a bit of him felt a bit of remorse. He'd never see Lizzy again..and she was his only friend. Ciel felt sick to his stomach, which didn't just come from hunger. He was lost and confused mentally and physically.

The sound of the driver pulling off snapped him back to reality. He looked up and saw as his carriage rode off quickly. The man started walking to a very close building. Ciel looked at it. It wasn't as huge as Madam Johnson's but was big none the less and taller too. He looked at the surroundings and blinked in surprise. There were more children who looked older than him but not much. He was small for his age so he couldn't really tell. It was two on each side planting something into the ground and around them were arrays of colorful flowers. They were pretty and each a new color.

The man stopped and looked at them. "Girls, get into the manor. I'm holding a meeting. Gather the others." He stated simply. They all bowed and ran inside before him. He chuckled. "Hm...Adorable ones indeed..." He started walking and glanced at Ciel. "I'm sure you'll fit right in." He said with a grin that caused Ciel to mentally shiver. Once inside, Ciel kept his eyes to the ground. As much he wanted to inspect his surrounding, the fear of meeting gazes with man stopped him. It wasn't like Madam's Johnson but made him feel more uncomfortable than scared. Ciel decided his color then and there. Yellow. He suddenly stopped walking and Ciel hesitantly looked up. In a line, there were 4 girls and two boys. All different heights and looked different. The girls each wore the same uniform with a different color bow while the boys had different ties.

The girl on the end had light blonde hair in two long pigtails with dark yellow eyes. The one next to her had short purple hair that stopped at her shoulder with light purple eyes that were only a shade darker than her eyes. Next was one of the boy who had shaggy dark greenish black hair with bright green eyes to match. The girl next to him had semi-long red hair that was in one long braid and same color eyes with a pair of red glasses. The last two were taller than them and looked to be the oldest. The girl had orange that couldn't be mistaken for any other color with orange eyes to match and the boy had long black hair that was in one pony-tail behind him with coal black eyes. What was strange that the color of their eyes matched the color of their bows and ties.

The man cleared his throat before speaking to him which caused them all to stand straight up. "Children, you have another fellow worker starting today." He motioned towards Ciel. "I want you to show him the ropes and fill in on my rules and expectations." He looked at Ciel. "You were only the one chosen out about 20 today for one reason only." Ciel flinched when he placed a hand on his head. "I've never seen a child with such blue eyes before. You'll fit my color brigade nicely. Lets see what shall I name you...or do you already have one?" Ciel looked down not saying anything and the man shook his head a bit. "Come on, don't be shy."

"C-Ciel." He muttered loud enough for the man to hear. Ciel thought that the best way to play along for now was acting clueless and naive. He was smart but he knew nothing about these people so he wasn't going to show them his true nature until he saw that was right. "My name is Ciel." He repeated louder and with more confidence.

"Ciel.." The man smiled brightly at him which caused Ciel to look at him confused. "Your name matches you perfectly. I couldn't have named you better myself!" He laughed to himself before calming down a bit. "Welcome to Ichijo Manor." He said before going up the stairs leaving Ciel there, tied up and confused.

Once he was out of sight, the oldest boy with black hair went and untied him. "You aren't hurt, are you?" He asked while undoing the knot. Once his hands were free, Ciel rubbed his wrist in relief. They boy gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry you got trapped her like the rest of us...but I can promise you its not that bad here..."

Ciel looked at him and nodded. "W-Who are you...all of you?" He asked simply.

"Oh right, we haven't introduced ourselves yet." He chuckled. "I'm Kuro." He pointed from how Ciel saw them. "The blonde is Kiro, girl with orange is Renji, the boy is Midori, the red-head is Aka, and girl with purple is Papu." He chuckled again. "As you can see, we were all given color scheme names. Its weird but we've grown pretty use to it."

Ciel frowned a bit. "But don't you have real names? I mean...if you were sent here to work than at least your last master would have given you a new name...Right?" Ciel had not even been there for 10 minutes and already wanted to leave. The look of confusion on their faces made him blink. A thought occurred to him as he looked at their lost faces. "D-Don't...Don't you know your own names?"

Aka stepped up and looked at him. "We were all given names but we all forgot them. We all come from different environments but somehow we still managed to lose our titles..." She smiled at him. "Still, we like our names. Its pretty easy to remember and guess. Yours would be kinda difficult...Seeing how your name is French and All.."

He looked away rubbing his wrist still. "C-Can I ask you a question?" He said almost timidly. He didn't want to be rude to them since they were being so nice to him. Aka tilted her head, which meant he was free to ask it. "Just...where are we? I mean what town..."

She giggled. "What a silly question...But I can tell that you are serious." She calmed a bit before nodding. "We are in the east country side of London, England. You know where that is right?" Aka questioned seeing how wide his eyes had gotten. "Ciel?...Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine." He answered, holding his head a bit. How could he traveled so far in so little time was beyond his knowledge but that idea of escaping that was forming in the back of his head seemed to disappear entirely. Even he managed to escape, where could he possibly go...

"Well.." Started Midori with a slight cough to catch his attention. The others including Ciel looked at him. "I'll show you around, Ciel, and fill you in on each rule. As the oldest and more responsible its only right if I do." He started walking. Ciel hesitantly followed him along with the others. He pointed to several doors which Ciel made mental notes on. He reached a really big one and stopped. "This is the Master's bedroom. The rule for his room is really simple. Don't get caught in there cleaning or anything. The result is worst than any punishment..."

"What happens?" Ciel asked looking at him. Midori trembled slightly but kept looking ahead to not meet eye contact. Aka put a hand on his shoulder. Her face looked scared. She shook her head. Ciel got the hint that he didn't want to know. He nodded back.

"L-Lets...Lets get going..." Midori continued pointing out different things. Ciel discovered that there was a large library that they were free to look through at night which almost made him vibrate with happiness. It was also a big kitchen. He himself was a great cook so it was pretty good to have such great materials. Finally showed him their rooms. They were paired up. Midori looked at him. "Alright, the rooms are Aka and Renji and Kira, Myself and Kuro, I guess that means your with Papu. Even though, your a boy, the rooms was color schemes and the Master hates when it isn't followed."

Papu looked at him and smiled a bit. She bowed her head a bit and Ciel returned the gesture to her. Renji fixed her glasses. "Oh and Ciel, just to tell you, Papu is really special from us." She pat her head. "She's well...She can't talk." Ciel blinked in surprised looking at her. Her gaze immediately shifted. Renji frowned. "Its not like she can't speak but she doesn't know how and refuses to learn. The Master says he doesn't mind it but it scares us."

Ciel nodded. These children were almost just like him only they probably had a better. He looked at each of them. So far, they were all pretty nice and somewhat reminded him of Lizzy. Though, for some reason, he felt like something was missing. "Wait...He's missing a color isn't here?" They all froze at the question. The air became very thick and he swallowed seeing their eyes except for Midori's get glossy. "I-Im sorry..." He immediately apologized. "I-I didn't mean-"

"Its fine." Kira said stopped the apology giving him a small smile. "You're right. We are. His name was Kuri. There was an accident and...he didn't make it. We aren't supposed to talk about it so try not to bring up again, okay?" She said the last part softly. Ciel nodded and she grinned a bit. "Good." Her attention went to Papu. "Let him get settled in the room and get him into uniform and all that stuff. We'll be getting dinner together."

Papu took his hand pulling him towards the room. She opened the door for him and he went inside. Ciel went in and looked around. It was fairly big with colored beds and wardrobes. It had windows covered with blinds. He looked at her with a small smile. "Thank you, Papu." She only stared at him and he blinked. "Uh...Papu..." His head clicked and remembered that she doesn't talk. She walked up to him before looking at the door. She then turned back to him and started moving her hands.

Ciel looked at her and his eyes widened. Sign language. Something that he had learned from his mother before she died. He could read it perfectly but doing the signs messed him up a lot. She began doing a lot almost as if she was in a hurry. Danger. Escape. Voice. Demon. Was all he was able to make out before she scurried out the room, closing the door quickly. He had never met anyone who signed so fast before. He looked on the bed and saw a suit already set out. It was just like the others only have a blue tie. It was then did Ciel notice something. Even though their uniforms looked almost the same, the wore them different.

The girls. They each had a maid uniform but were styled way different. Papu had white socks with her dress, Renji and Aka had thigh-highs with their color out-lined at the top, and Kira wore stockings and wore a skirt. The boy uniforms looked the same but weren't. Kuro's sleeves were up a little more, folded, while Midori's buttons were green and his shoes were outlined in green. They found someway to make it work. Ciel looked at his and nodded at it getting an idea. He changed out of his clothes and fixed the uniform on him. He made the sleeves got to his elbow and had his tie in a bow form.

He went to the window and sighed looking outside it. "I don't know how I'm going to get free this time, Mom.." He muttered, looking the sky. "I'll figure it out soon..." He started humming her song while putting on his gloves and leaving the room.

* * *

"My lord, how could you do that at Princess Yume's party!" Hannah cried, pointing at the page on the newspaper, glaring at him. The red-eyed earl rolled his eyes at the woman as she kept talking, making him rest his elbow on the desk and prompt his head against his hand with a silent sigh. "Engaged or not, Sir, this is highly unprofessional to be beat her father at a game of chess. You know just as well as I do that King Izaya-"

He cut her off with a dull expression on his face. "-King Izaya is one of the most powerful kings in the world and I'm lucky to be betrothed to his beautiful and only daughter. I need to be more respectful when I'm around him..." He sighed again, looking at her. "Hannah, you tell me this so many times that I think I might say it in my sleep. Dear Sister, even though you work so hard for me, I'd appreciate it if you acted just a little more like, Claude."

The woman fumed, looking like she was ready to set her younger brother on fire. "Don't take that tone with me, Sebastian! I don't care if you think you are the best just because father left you in charge of the company and the queen chose you for her watch dog, I will kick your ass like I did when we were little!"

"Honestly, Hannah, I shouldn't be able to hear you screaming when I first walk in the manor." A voice said from the open door.

Sebastian didn't even have to look before smirking. "Speak of the devil..." The footsteps walked closer to the desk next to Hannah, who rolled her eyes. Sebastian looked at him. He and Claude looked a bit alike only being him having yellow eyes and wore sliver rimmed glasses. However, Sebastian knew that whenever he dropped by, there was a problem. He looked at him with a bored expression. "To what do I owe this pleasure...Nii-Chan?

Claude scowled a bit at the name. "Bastard..." He said before leaning over the desk and changing the newspaper page. On it was the picture of a house with corpses laying on the ground outside it or in the windows covered with blood. Sebastian and Hannah both perked up seeing that. "This is 15th house this month. Each member of the family brutally murdered. Only jewels being taken. They have failed to find out just what is happening but witness could only say that they only saw flashes of people leaving. No faces or footsteps, just flashes. Her majesty is growing worried." The yellow-eyed man looked at his brother. "So I take it you catch my drift..."

He nodded standing going to the window. "These murders have been getting worst since last month. I need to investigate this thoroughly before I take any action." He smirked at his own reflection before looking at the time. "Hannah, I want all the information on this that you can find. You might need to bully Arthur for a bit but as long as you get it." She nodded and went out the room before he turned to Claude. "You can tell Her Majesty that I accept this case."

Claude gave a low nod before starting to exit the room. "Don't do anything stupid, Sebastian." He fixed his glasses, looking at him seriously. "You're my brother but should you somehow mess this up before we could find that person, I won't hesitate to knock your from that throne you seem to glued yourself too..." He glared at him a bit as his glasses shined, hiding his serious eyes. "Understand?"

"Of course but I'll let you know now that I'm not moving from it anytime soon. That person..." He clenched his fist smirking. "When I find them...Their death will be the happiest moment of our lives... I gave my word. And a person who can't keep their word, isn't worth their salt."

**I apologize for this being so late! I'm sorry but I will finish this story. Things are starting to heat up and I'm enjoying it. See ya next Chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**For a Moment**

**Chapter Four- ...I Felt Safe**

"Momma, look! It's snowing! It's so bright!" A high-pitched voice cried as he pulled his mother through the slowly falling snow. She laughed as her son giggled with delight. "When we get home, let's get Poppa and build a big snowman!" He explained making the woman only laugh more as he kept going on and on about what they could do and he was so busy going on about it, that he bumped into someone. He turned around and bowed. "I'm sorry, Mister!"

Ciel turned around as well, looking at what had just bumped him. "_Pink."_ He thought instantly before bowing back. A small box in his hand. "It's alright." He said with a smile as the small boy nodded and ran off with his parent. He looked at the sky and sighed softly. Winter was a great season. All the sadness of the air would turn frost and you couldn't see it with the flakes of white in the air. Heavenly, was how Ciel described it.

_I wish the falling powdered snow would land and hide me_

_The snow and tears that fall are without even sound_

"Ciel, are you okay?"

He stopped softly singing before turning to the confused looks of Aka and Renji. He smiled simply. "I'm fine. Just a bit distracted." He answered, careful to not drop the box he had. She blinked again nodding before starting to walk away, followed by Renji. Ciel sighed a bit before walking after them holding the crate to his chest a bit. "I need to work on not dazing out so much..." He decided going to match the other two's pace.

It had been only a few months since Ciel had started working for Lord Ichijo. He rarely saw him except for when he had parties or events. Other than that, he would be in his study or bedroom or even out of the manor. During that time, Ciel had grown to not love but somewhat like his new duties. He wasn't getting beaten daily or screamed at. He did his work just how Madam Johnson had always wanted him too. As he did it, the thoughts and plans of escape had been slowly building up. His goal was just getting free. It was his only reason for working so hard. Not only that, but he wanted the same for his new found friends. They had been added onto the list not so long after he got there.

Ciel had learned a lot about them and Lord Ichijo. Midori, the oldest, he was the only one who had been born in England. He was small and 16, though his birthday was a mystery along with all the rest. Renji and Kuro were from Japan and explained that they were fraternal twins. They were 15 and the tallest out the bunch. Kira was born in Germany and was 15 as well. She knew that her mother had given her to Lord Ichijo. Papu was from Korea and was the youngest, being 13 like Ciel. She didn't remember much as well. Aka was 14 and had no idea where she was born and didn't remember her parents or how she even got to work for the man. He had learned that Lord Ichijo had inherited his fortune from his late mother. Never married and no living relatives, nothing. Kuro had found evidence that he had another set of workers with the same colored names as they did, except Ciel, only that when they turned 18, they disappear without another word. The story worried Midori but Renji convinced him that her brother was just joking.

At the moment, Ciel, Renji and Aka had left the manor to go get more groceries when the late November snow started to fall. It had been growing colder for a long time. The girls had wore thick stockings and boots with hats outlined in their color. Ciel had a black cloak with a blue scarf and black boots. It was shortly after he started working, he revealed his wonderful cooking skills. They all voted him to be top chef, which he immediately declined. It was then revealed that he was the only logical choice, since he was already reading cooking books and knew how to work the things they didn't. After a few days of begging, he cracked and gave in. Since then, he always tried to improve. That was something he remembered his mother telling him all the time. There's always a level higher than what you are.

"Hey, why don't we get cake ingredients while we are out so we don't have to buy any later?" Aka asked which caused Ciel to tilted his head in confusion. She smiled brightly at him. "Have you forgotten that your birthday is only in two weeks? Master doesn't let us out like this often, you know. I want to be able to make sure that we have everything to make you a really good cake."

"Aka, that really isn't necessary." Ciel insisted, getting a better hold of the supplies so he didn't drop it. "You don't need to make a cake. We wouldn't have time for it anyway. Like you said, isn't it about time when Master Ichijo sends us to go find those flowers that only bloom in the winter. He's very particular about them being planted before his Christmas party. I'd hate to disappoint and make him angry over something as simple as my birthday."

Renji sighed. "Ciel, you haven't disappointed Master since you get here. And your birthday isn't simple. It's a celebration of your birth. You've helped us so much since you got here that I would angry if we didn't light a candle or anything. It's like you were a hero from a book." She saw Ciel blush lightly while avoiding gazes with her. "Come on, it could be really fun. Not to mention that you said yourself that you love sweets. What's better than some tea and cake? Please?"

He sighed and gave a slight nod. Saying no to any of the girls had always proven to end in vain. Why he continued to argue against them was something that he would never be able to really understand. "But nothing too big alright, I don't want to waste any of the materials that we may need." He said before smiling at them. "And make sure that the cake is good. Nothing worst than bad cake."

"No one cooks as good as you, Ciel!"

The three laughed happily as they made their way to the next section to get their last bit of things which was bread. Since Aka had the least, she was going to carry that. Ciel looked off into the distance when he heard a horse going hayware with a child on its back, knocking over a bunch a things. He glanced over to the girl for a second and set his crate doing and running over to it where some adults were already reacting. Somehow, he managed to grabs the rope attached the animal and started to hush it. He smiled at it and the horse nuzzled against him. He laughed. "There. Nothing to be scared about." He whispered before going to the back, where a little girl was holding on to the saddle for dear life. "Miss, are you alright?"

She looked up and wiped her watery eyes. She had light blue eyes that was mixed with a shade just as dark as his. Her hair was a matching dark blue that had two braids on either side of her face and a bow behind her hair. After a moment, she nodded. He held out his hand to her and helped her to ground carefully. The crowd watching in awe as she looked up to Ciel. He was taller than her by maybe an inch. She twiddled her thumbs, looking down. "U-Um...Thank you. My horse saw a snake and it started to go crazy...You aren't hurt, are you?"

"No, I'm just fine. I'm glad that you are alright. Though I can't really talk for all the things it ran over." He scratched his head with a nervous laugh, looking at all the damage. The girl brung a hand close to her mouth and winced. Lots of stands had been knocked over thanks to her. "On a lighter note, it's nice to meet you."

She looked at him again and bowed politely. "O-Oh right! Pardon my rudeness. It's nice to meet you too. My name is Ai Kazuki. What's yours?"

"My name is Ciel Ph..." He paused, his hand moving a bit. His last name...It had been years since he said it. He didn't even remember it until now when he had a proper introduction instead of someone talking for him. Shaking it off, he bowed back with the same smile. " Just Ciel. A pleasure." They exchanged a look before an older woman came running towards them screaming Ai's name.

"Ai-Chan! Ai-Chan!" She went and hugged her tightly making Ai cringe. The woman had long brown hair that let loose in a bun. She had bright green eyes and red flower in her hair. With how her dress looked, she seemed like a nobel. "That was so terrifying, are you alright?" She asked instantly checking her for bruises.

"Yume-Senpai, I'm fine. Really, stop." The girl complained wiggling away. She sent a smile at Ciel. "He saved me."

The woman known as Yume smiled at him. "Ah, you're so cute. Kinda like my Ai-Chan!" She said and smaller girl blushed looking away. Ciel averted his eyes too. "Well, thank you for saving my Ai-Chan. I don't know what I'd done if I lost her like that. Her mother would flip." She giggled and went into her pocket giving him 15 gold pieces. "Here."

His eyes widened and started to give them back. He couldn't accept money for something so little. It wouldn't be the gentlemanly thing to do. "I-I can't take this…"

Yume grinned. "Of course you can. I have millions more at home. But I beg you to take them. I don't know how else to thank you so I thought that would be a good start." He was going to protest but she kissed his forehead. "Thanks again, Cutie.

"Princess, we should be leaving." A voice said from behind them.

Ciel looked and the woman did too. He then stared at her for a long time as she went around giving money to replace the things the horse had broken along with Ai. His eyes widened as he went to get the crates he put down. He went back his thoughts seeing the crest on her necklace and remembered a few months prior when he was working for Madam Johnson. That was the Sekai kingdom crest….So that had to be the princess. "Then who is Ai to her…" He noticed Aka carrying the box towards him. He pocketed the money and walked towards them. "Let's get back."

As the child walked up the hill leading out of the small village, Ciel saw a homeless man sleeping outside one of the houses. His heart sank and he let the girls keep walking going over to him. Seeing a cup on the ground, he got about 7 of his gold pieces and places them into the cup before running to rejoin the girls. The sleeping figure watched him move, his crimson eyes narrowing at the boy watching him walk away.

* * *

Ciel washed the remaining dishes from dinner while humming to himself. He was finishing the last dish when he glanced out the the window. It was almost 11 at night but he saw something flash outside. If he wasn't crazy than it looked like a person. He rinsed off the final dish and went to go look check when he saw Kuro sitting against the wall with Papu and Midori. He was in a fetal position and his tie was loose along with his entire uniform, which also looked roughed up. He forgot about what he saw to go check on him. "What's going on?" He asked kneeling besides his friend. "Kuro, what happened...?"

The boy bit his lip and shook his head. "It was my fault...I..." He stopped, choking on his own words. It looked at he had been crying as well. Ciel looked at his wrist and gasped silently at the familiar looking marks. Like someone had tied them together with something thick. His head lowered and bangs covered his dark blue eyes. Kuro saw it from the corner of his eyes as Ciel took his wrist. "Ci-Ciel..."

"How." The boy's voice was low and smooth, cutting him off before Kuro could lie to him.

He had gotten very overprotective over the children who worked with him, mainly because of how meek they got around other people. At the first part he attended to, a woman had spilled her drink on the floor on purpose just to make Aka clean it up but the girl said nothing, to the woman or to Lord Ichijo. He remembered some of the young children at the party were teasing Kira because she tripped but she didn't defend herself. Ciel had to step in. He used his words to scare the bullies away and asked the woman as politely as he could managed to stop because he'd hate to tell her husband that she was kissing a man in the garden. Now, Kuro looked at him with fear in his eyes, ready to protect whoever hurt him. "I-It's not really..."

Ciel kept a dull look and slightly squeezed his wrist making the boy flinch. He didn't want to hurt him but he wanted the truth. Kuro always hid his emotions because he didn't want to bother anyone else. His attention went to Midori and Papu as well, but mostly Midori since the girl didn't speak. "How." He repeated calmly, eyes hard and serious on the wound on Kuro's wrist.

"One of the guest got very drunk and went to use the bathroom and ran into him. I think they were about to...you know... but we opened the door, and caught them last minute." Midori explained quietly, looking at his wrist as well. "You can't go out tonight...You won't be able to do anything. I'll tell the others that we should go another time."

His eyes widened while Ciel got confused. "No! You can't do that! Master will get very upset that we missed the opportunity! You can't cancel it!" He protested looking down. "We've hid this long enough. He's bound to find out sooner or later. Have Ciel go in my place."

"Go? Go where? What on earth are you talking about?" Ciel asked, frowning.

Midori averted his gaze. "Papu..Take Ciel to Renji and the others. We'll leave once I take Kuro to our room."

She nodded her head and took the boy's hand leading him to Gazebo where they usually left from to get supplies from the town. Once they got there, Ciel lost color in his skin. The other girls were there and they had on dark cloaks and were each holding a weapon. Renji and Aka had a dagger while Kira held a small black pistol. "...What are you doing..." He asked in a whisper and they still heard him.

Kira looked at him and gasped trying to hide it. "Ciel! Um..we can...explain!" She looked at Papu with a small glare. "Why did you bring him here? We weren't going to involve him, that's what we agreed!" She said.

"Involve me in what? What the blazes are you guys doing that you had to hide it from me! And why does it require you to have those weapons?" He frowned. He just didn't understand it at all. "Midori..He told Papu to bring me here...So explain. What's going on?"

Papu went over behind Renji picking up a basket of flowers putting on a lighter colored cloak while Aka walked towards him with a reluctant sigh. "We've been doing this for almost a year, Ciel. We haven't been completely honest with you...I know that you read the newspapers every morning... The Flash Case, where an entire house of people is murdered and only jewels are taken..." She recited, holding up the knife. "That's us. Master sends us out to collect jewels for his collection and rid ourselves or any witness." His mouth dropped and she looked down. "He gave us our target a little over a week ago. They only just came into town and they're leaving first thing in the morning."

He couldn't believe this. He had been living with people he thought he could trust but it was really just a facade. He never really trusted Ichijo but he had stayed with these children. Showing them how to be independent and they showed him the meaning of family again...was that just a way to trick him? "So you kill innocent people for stones...Mere colored rocks! What makes you think that this is okay?"

"We don't, Ciel." Midori's voice said from behind him. He was now wearing his own dark cloak holding a gun. "We don't have a choice. We do it because Master threatened to separate us... We don't have families or anyone else to turn to. Kuro and I might be able to be paper boys but he'll send the girls right into..." He stopped, but Ciel knew what he wanted to say. He held out the gun for Ciel to take. "You once said that we need to protect was is ours. Help us..please."

The blue-eyed servant lowered his eyes in thought. He'd never wanted to take the life of anyone...but if he went, maybe he could convince them to run away from Ichijo. There was an orphanage that had been opened, not far from London. A few hours away but it was nice there and they didn't have to work like dogs for a perverted boss. Hesitantly, he took the gun and huffed. "Just once...you hear me..Just once.." He muttered loudly.

They all smiled a bit at him and Renji looked off into the distance. "Master changed the mission. We are not only taking jewels but...there is a person we need to eliminate...I'll tell you who once we get there. Let's move."

* * *

Ciel watched through a bush as Papu went up to a rather large house and knocked on the door. His hand was clenched into a tight fist watching her. Renji explained who the target was and it was eating him alive. Ichijo wanted the emeralds that were on the crown of Princess Yume Sekai, the royal visiting the town before going to another place way on the country-side. With her was the child of the woman who had stolen a great deal of money from him and wanted the daughter eliminated. Just enough it was the same girl who he had saved earlier: Yume's adopted little sister, Countess Ai Kazuki.

Thanks to Papu posing as an orphan selling plants, the many officers scattered about the ground didn't suspect anything. The plan was simple and dangerous and he hated it more than anything. The others came behind him and watched as well. Once the door opened, the old butler looked at her and Papu silently offered him some flowers, one hand behind her back. Once the man choose one, she gave the signal to them and the 4 ran off leaving Ciel there alone. He shut his eyes hearing the sound of a body being sliced followed by a thud on the ground. He tried not to look at the corpse as he started to go inside where they had ran. It was then he noticed something off.

There were no guards around. There was a princess inside and usually they were stationed outside. Not only that but there hadn't been a lot of Yard men and he couldn't hear or see the horses he saw earlier. He lost his breath looking at the ground, the cold nipping at him with the reason. This was a setup for them..A trap. He turned ready to run inside and tell him him when the entire place burst into angry flames. He was forced back and coughed once the smoke hit him. He stared in horror as the fire grew bigger and bigger. Stumbling back, he broke into a run. He couldn't be there. No while knowing he had just let them walk into their death.

"No! This isn't happening!" He stopped to catch his breath after running for maybe 5 minutes straight at his fastest. He didn't know where he was but knew that he had to hurry and get his breathing under control. The snow had began to fall again and it was getting colder by the second. He heard the yard and stood up, dashing to a corner to hide. Shutting his eyes tight, he waited for the sounds to disappear. Carefully, he looked to see if they were gone and heard a footsteps behind him. Scared, he started to pull out the gun when something grabbed his wrist and held it up over his head, lifting him over the ground. He wiggled and tried getting loose, the gun dropping from his other hand. "No! Let me go! Let go!"

"My My...so you are the one that got away." A smooth voice said to him. He looked up and saw that his hand was being held by a tall man. He wore a black fancy coat and black gloves. His hair was dark black and looked smooth and soft, his face almost like that of an alluring raven. What captured Ciel's attention was the color of the man's eyes. A dark carmine blend that added color to his flawless pale skin. He was like a fallen angel. He smiled and his eyes fell on the pistol that had hit the ground. "And I see the weapon right here." He mused. "I had feeling that you would come for the princess and her sister. Yet, you seem to be the only one who avoided my brilliant trap. Mind explaining?"

Ciel swallowed hard, ignoring the brief fluttering in his stomach to glare at him. "It wasn't hard. It was obviously a trap. There are no horses or anyone around. With a princess who's being targeted, there would be guards outside." He tried again and glared harder. "Are you going to kill me? Go ahead. I haven't killed anything but there's nothing to return to. Do me the favor of ending it so I don't have to!"

The man was silent, his eyes piercing at Ciel with no emotion. He didn't loosen his grip but gave small chuckle as an amused grin came to his face. "Forgive me but where would be the fun in that? If you want to die then there is really no point." The man taunted without trying which angered Ciel even more. "But since you are apart of that little organization or whatever, I can't simply let you go now can I?"

The child grit his teeth, getting annoyed with his cocky attitude. His other hand turned into a fist from anger and the cold. "So what are you waiting for, a written invitation? I told you to kill me and get it over with!"

He laughed lightly. "I don't plan to kill you." Confusion spread all over Ciel's face as his glare dropped and he didn't say a word. "You should really let adults finish before you go yelling like that because you have it all wrong, Dear boy." He said with a light smirk, looking at him. "I'm going to keep you."

* * *

"Open this door this instant! I demand that you release me!"

Sebastian gave a sigh as he heard Ciel pound on the door. This really was a child..He had given him a nice, warm room instead of a prison cell and this was still his attitude. It was irritating to say the least but he felt responsible for this headache. He thought that he was going to be able to capture the ones who were doing all the murders and he hadn't expected them to be children. He had went out and posed as a beggar to see if he could gather his own details. He had saw one of the girls buying bullet rounds and two daggers. He instantly assumed that they weren't up to anything good. He wanted to follow them but gotten caught by Ciel, who'd given him money. Selfless action for a killer...Or maybe he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time...

"My lord." Hannah walked up her brother and heard the banging looking at it with confusion. "...Did you find a dog while you were out?" She asked seeing how he wasn't stopping. Sebastian put a hand to his head and sighed while her head tilted. "You solved the case, didn't you?"

"I've nearly solved the case, Hannah." He said. "And that dog is more like a yammering puppy I found during it. He's the only connection I have to the whole thing and he's more troublesome then I would have imagined any child to be. Stubborn, Rude...Kinda reminds me of myself at his age."

Her face dulled. "You do realize that you were considered a child not even 4 years ago. Mr. 20-going-on-21. As the the head of the Michaelis family and fortune and the youngest, I'd expect you to really understand everything but you still bring home strays." She huffed crossing her arms. "So what are you going to do with him? Princess Yume and Lady Kazuki shall be here this evening. What do you plan to tell them, My lord?"

He deadpanned. "Why must I tell them anything? They coming for an overnight visit then returning back to her kingdom. The king has yet to reveal her real age and our wedding date. Not to mention that it's already a tedious thing because I'm required to produce a suitable mate of nobility for Ai as a thanks to her Grandmother..."

"We gave you all the available names around her age!"

"Well I know them all and they are terrible. Prince Lance is a sadistic little leader and the kingdom is very far away and that other small brat is an immediate no. If I could make one myself that would be-" He paused mid sentence and looked back to the door he just locked with the boy inside. He thought about it and grinned to himself. "Hannah, I have the most wonderful idea for game to play and I want you and Claude to join."

The woman glared at him stepping away. "Oh no...I'm not playing any games with you, Sebastian." She said and he pouted. "Don't pout at me! I'm your older sister, not your friend. I don't have to involve myself in your strange concepts which you stupidly name ''Game''. The answer is no." He was still doing it and she looked away before having to keep looking at it. After a minute, she gave up with a loud groan. "I really really hate you! Just what is this game?"

Sebastian grinned, knowing that he had won the moment he began pouting. "The child I have in that room is about Ai's age and his English is pretty noble level. If he were trained by the correct servants than he could be turned into a great fiance under his last name. I don't know it but if we learn more about him then we can use him to our advantage. The company's connections to the Kazuki sector is very weak. If they are engaged than we can further business." He explained, eyes twinkling mischievously. "Do you catch my drift?"

"You're asking me and Claude to pose as servants so that you can train this pup?" She summed up and sighed. :That's a lot of nerve but if it really furthers business posing as maid won't hurt...He's just a kid after all...Just like my Luka..." She nearly whispered that last part but Sebastian did hear it. "I'll do it but while we are playing teachers, what will that make you?"

Sebastian winked at her with a tilt of his head. "That makes me simply one hell of a butler, of course."

**They meet at last! His plans seems pretty obvious, right? I apologize deeply if you see a lot of typos too! See Ya Next Chapter!**


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